Pelicans 87 - 97 Warriors
Final
  for this game

Thompson, Warriors battle past Pelicans for 2-0 series lead

Apr 21, 2015 - 5:49 AM Oakland, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Klay Thompson scored 14 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to help the Golden State Warriors to a 97-87 win and a 2-0 Western Conference quarterfinal series lead over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Thompson scored 12 of Golden State's final 16 points to lead a late charge that turned a one-point game into a double-digit win.

"I wasn't going out there to force anything," Thompson said of his fourth quarter. "Just trying to do what I do best."

Stephen Curry, who was held scoreless in the fourth quarter, finished with 22 points and six assists in the win. Draymond Green added 14 points and 12 rebounds for Golden State.

"This is the playoffs," Curry said. "No matter if we are at home or on the road we are going to get everyone's best shot... It will be a big swing game if we can go down there and take Game 3."

Anthony Davis went for 26 points and 10 rebounds in the loss, while Eric Gordon chipped in 23 points.

"Our guys are growing up on the fly, and Anthony (Davis) and I have had some talks over the past few days and it is all sinking in now," Pelicans coach Monty Williams said.

Game 3 will be Thursday night at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.

Golden State, which trailed by 11 after the first quarter, built an eight- point lead courtesy of a 10-2 run to open the fourth, but the Pelicans hung tough as they did for most of the night and cut their deficit to 83-82 after Gordon's 3-pointer with 6:17 left in the game.

It remained a one-point spread when Thompson buried a 3-pointer to make it 88-84, then his three-point play with 1 1/2 minutes left stretched the margin to nine. Curry added the decisive blow to New Orleans on the next possession when he drove the lane, lured Davis away from the basket and dropped a pass off to Andrew Bogut for a dunk.

The Warriors came out of the gate a little sluggish and trailed by double digits after the first quarter. Gordon (11) and Davis (10) combined for 21 points in the opening 12 minutes, the Pelicans held Golden State to 31.8 percent shooting in the frame and led 28-17 entering the second.

"I thought in the first quarter we were trying for the hero shots. When we moved the ball tonight we did well. And it was really that second unit," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.

Golden State trimmed the deficit to four early in the second thanks to its reserves. The Warriors were nearly perfect from the floor in the frame, shooting 13-of-17 from the floor and 4-of-5 from 3-point range, to grab the lead at halftime. Curry's three-point play with 3:50 remaining in the half started a 17-5 run, and his 3-pointer in the closing seconds capped it for a 55-52 lead at the break.

Harrison Barnes' free throw early in the third gave the Warriors a 64-55 lead, but New Orleans ripped off nine straight to tie the game and it remained that way heading to the fourth.

Game Notes

The Warriors are 42-0 when holding teams under 100 this season ... Golden State outscored the Pelicans 24-7 on the fastbreak ... Tyreke Evans, who played just 12 minutes in Game 1 due to a knee injury, suited up and posted 16 points on 4-of-13 shooting ... Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday (leg) sat out of the contest after playing 21 minutes and scoring five points off the bench in Game 1 ... Bogut had a game-high 14 rebounds in the win.






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